Headed Back Tomorrow

"They stood sniffing in the sea-smell... 'This is better than being in a stuffy train on the way back to Latin and French and Algebra!' said Edmund. And then for quite a long time there was no more talking, only splashing and looking for shrimp and crabs."

-C.S. Lewis, "Prince Caspian"

Sigh

Mama: Ray, do you want to come outside and swing on the swing with me?

Ray: No.

Mama(surprised): Why not?

Ray: I pooped.

Mama: Why did you do that in your diaper and not in the potty?

Ray: Because.

Mama: Because why?

(Pause)

Ray: I pooped. It stinks.

Mama: I know it stinks, but why didn't you do it on the potty?

Ray: Because.

A Little Inspiration

Many of you may have heard about Susan Boyle. She is a 47 year old Brittish woman who appeared on Britains Got Talent. I had been hearing bits and pieces about her over the past few days, but I just sat down and watched the youtube video of her singing. If you haven't heard it, then you absolutely must. It was so beautiful and inspiring that it brought me to tears. Check it out here.

Able to Breathe

Tomorrow we are taking the kids to the beach. The beach we are going to is only about 30 minutes away, but it is still a big deal. The first beach trip of the year is always a big deal to me. It is a tradition for me(and then me and Luke...and then me, Luke and Ray) to go in February every year. I know that may sound strange, but Feb tends to have a warm front that comes in every year that seems to warm thing up just enough for me to venture out to the beach. This February I just didn't make it out there. It was kinda sad, but it partially had to do with the fact that hurricane Ike completely screwed up the beaches around here. So now we are FINALLY going. To say that the kids are excited would be an understatement. When I told Luke that we are going to the beach tomorrow, he said,



"I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU ARE TELLING ME!!!"



He then proceeded to ask me about 9 million times if we were really really really going to the beach tomorrow.



When I told Ray, she just waddled(the cloth diaper makes her waddle) around saying,

"Beach. Beach. Beach. Going to beach. Beach. Beach. Beach. Going to beach."



Needless to say, I'm pretty darn excited about digging my toes into the sand tomorrow. I know most of you are thinking, "Our beaches are gross!"

But when the beach is in you, well, it really doesn't matter. Like I've said before, I feel like a fish out of water when I go for too long with out being at the beach. So honestly, it doesn't matter the condition of the water, I just need to breathe again.



Here is link to a little song and video. I like Jack Johnson. He's a surfer that lives in Hawaii, and his music has that beachy sound I love. Enjoy.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7kzpZ2sBIw

Kreativ Blogger (award)

Awww! I got an award!! My sweet friend, Jennifer, a.k.a. my wise friend,(not to be confused with my wise confidant, or my wise sister. Aren't I lucky to have at least three wise women in my life that I can use as sounding boards for my bouncing thoughts when needed??), has given me a blog award! Like I said, isn't she sweet?

Here are the rules:

1.Link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. List seven things you LOVE

3. Link to seven blogs and let them know you have an award waiting for them on your blog.

Like Jennifer said, I'm not going to list my husband and kids, or any family members for that matter. Heck, I'm not even going to mention God. I love them dearly and deeply, but my seven things are going to be more random and silly things that you might not know about me. So, here goes...

1. I love the beach. (okay, so I didn't start out with an unknown revelation, but I just couldn't not mention it.) I love everything about the beach!(another quick side note. I don't actually love EVERYTHING. I don't like thinking about sharks when I'm surfing. I don't like it when a bunch of dead fish wash up and it makes the beach stink like...well, dead fish. I also don't like it when oil gets spilled in the water. And I really don't like it when people litter. But I'll shut up now because this is a LOVE list, not a gripe list. Besides those previously mentioned things, though, I really do pretty much love everything about the beach.) I love the sounds, the smells, the sand, the water, surfing, sandcastles, watching the kids play.....the list could literally go on forever. I also love anything that reminds of me the beach. Beachy colors, any thing that looks like it would be in a beach house, and beach paraphenalia. Needless to say the beach is a part of me.

2. I love the show Big Brother. When it is on, my world revolves around it(probably not quite so much now that we have DVR though.). Even when it is kinda trashy I can't help but watching it. I guess the reason I love it so much is because I think of it as the epitomy of reality tv. I know it is somewhat edited, but still, it seems to get down to the nitty gritty of who people really are and I love that. No secrets. (Another contributing factor probably is the fact that I read George Orwell's "1984" over a decade ago but the whole creepiness of the whole big brother thing always stuck with me.)

3. I love being outside. Now that spring is here I find it very difficult to get my inside housework done. I want to be outside as much as I possibly can. It is causing quite an issue with things like, getting the dusting, vacuuming, and toilet cleaning done. Oh well. Soon it will be too hot to spend the entire day outside and I'm sure that I will have more than enough time for housework.

4. I love texting. I'm not much of a phone person when it comes to talking, but I can text my head off. My brother-in-law and I always joke about who has the fastest thumb. I do, of course, hands down. When Josh and I started dating we texted each other several HUNDRED times a day. We still use texting as a mode of communication. At times we even still text each other when we are in the same room.

5. I love my chickens. No seriously. I really really love my chickens. It all started when I was a young teen. We lived in a country town. My dad went to the video rental store to get a movie and came home with a baby chick. (that's kinda how it works in the country. The honest to god deal was, a free baby chick with a movie rental.) So, we named her Peck. She was an awesome chicken. She acted more like a dog than a chicken. Our family had a big garden at the time and every kid was required to spend 45 minutes a day pulling weeds and working in the garden. Peck as like a litte side kick. She would follow me while I worked, eating worms and grass and just being a little sweet heart. So when Josh and I got our first batch of chicks three years ago, we were lucky enough to end up with another little mother hen like Peck. When our dog had puppies the hen used to sit in the kennel with the puppies whenever the mama dog was away. Needless to say...I'm in love with chickens. I know that some people find them creepy, but I absolutely LOVE being a chicken farmer.

6. I love hot tea. Josh and I drink hot tea every single night without fail. I drink green tea in the mornings and sometimes in the afternoons, and then in the evenings we drink herbal tea. It's just our thing, I guess. It would feel weird if we didn't do it. Same routine every night. Josh says, "You want tea, babe." I say, "Yes." He says, "Big mug or little mug." I say, "Big mug." Always the same exact exchange. I guess that's marriage for you.

7. I love my best friend. More important than my right arm. More memories than a Tolstoy novel. Enough said.

Here are the seven blogs I am honoring:

1. Rachel at Time for Little R and R

2. Allie at Salad Days

3. Amanda at The Hoyt Family

4. Hollie at Everything Changes

5. Erika at Musings From a Stay at Home Mom

6. Jennifer at A Journey of Love and Faith

7. Well....there isn't going to be a 7. I can do this how I please, right?

Very Quick Update

I just wanted to quickly update you the young teen I asked you to pray for in my last post. I was able to talk with her mother yesterday and she has made the decision to keep her baby. I cannot even begin to tell you how that thrilled me soul! As I was talking with the mother/grandmother-to-be it was taking every bit of self-control that I had not to shout "PRAISE THE LORD"(and then do a little dance). I didn't want to scare the poor woman, and I knew that my mission in helping this girl went beyond just doing my part to keep her from having an abortion, but also to provide support to her throughout her entire pregnancy and after. This girl and her parents have been on my heart since I met with them last Monday. When the three of them left the clinic upset, stressed, and broken, I knew that the girl had set her heart more on having an abortion than not. I spent this past week praying, thinking about what I should have said, what I shouldn't have said, wishing that I had hugged her, and then some more praying. I KNOW it was the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit that changed this girls heart, and not anything that I said or did. So a million and one thank yous to all of you how prayed for her this past week. I absolutely cannot thank you enough.

So Very Heavy

Over the past 6 months or so I have being asking the Lord for something specific. I have been praying that He would reveal to me how He sees the world around me, and that He would give me the ability to love others the way that He loves them. I am not a naturally compassionate, sympathetic, and caring person. Of course I am to a certain extent towards my children, close friends, and close family. But in general I'm usually a, "Quit complaining and pull yourself up by your own boot straps" type of person. I don't pride myself on that fact, but like it or not, that's how I naturally am. In my sin nature, that is.


Now that the Lord has been transforming my heart it has been both a blessing, and a curse. I have come to realize that as Christ's love fills my heart, along with it comes a burden.

I've found myself so very heavy hearted for the lost around me.
I've found myself weeping and broken over the pain of virtual strangers.
I've found myself consumed to the point of near frensy trying to help those that some times don't even want my help.

Agh! It can be so frustrating at times!



I was telling my wise confidant whom shall remain nameless, that I don't know if I'm cut out to work at the Hope Center because at times I come across people with deep hurts, and I take it to heart so much that it is almost more than I can bear. I don't know if I get too involved emotionally, or if investing your emotions is the most excellent way to minister. Either way, I'm invested, and my heart is breaking.


So, to close this, I have two things weighing heavy on my heart right now that I would like to ask you all to fervently pray for:

1. There is someone in my life needs the Lord and I have seen evidence of the Holy Spirit working in their life. Pray for salvation for that person and their spouse.

2. I have a family that I want you to keep in your prayers. It is the family of one of my clients at the Hope Center. She is very young and trying to decided whether or not she is going to have an abortion. She is in much emotional pain, as are her parents. It is taking much retraint on my part to give her space and resign myself to just pray for her.